Sherlock Holmes & Solar Pons

Rare Beach Boys Song – It’s a New Day

I don’t know every Beach Boys-related song out there, but I’ve certainly heard an awful lot of them over the years, and this was a brand new discovery today.

Dennis Wilson was the first Beach Boy to cut a solo album – 1977’s Pacific Ocean Blue. But back in 1971, he actually recorded about 90% of a solo effort with the working title Dennis Wilson Poops (I’m hoping there was a change coming to that). It was shelved after he offered a pair of the album’s songs, Cuddle Up and Make It Good, for the current Beach Boys project, Carl and the Passions: So Tough.

While I LOVE River Song from Pacific Ocean Blue, as a whole, the 1971 album was much stronger. An unknown gem was It’s a New Day. Blondie Chaplin, who (along with Ricky Fataar) wasn’t officially a Beach Boy yet, was in the band’s orbit and he sang the lead.

I think this is a fine song and would have easily fit on So Tough or Holland.